It’s the best time of year for us here in Toronto - weather is warming up, sun is shining and we’re all eager to get outdoors more often than not! It is also the time of year that you should book a landscaper to do a spring clean-up or if you have a regular landscaper through the season, it is time to make sure you’re booked in for your regular time slot! Never worked with a landscaping team? Feel free to send us an email for our top recommendations. Not interested in a landscaper and looking to get your hands dirty? We’ve put together five things that can help spruce-up your backyard and make it the summer oasis you’re looking for.

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1. Get weeding!

This is one of the easiest (but also most labour intensive) things you can do to keep your backyard in tip top shape. Weeds come in all shapes in forms - some can even be very pretty to look at. But weeds are invasive and can take necessary nutrients and water from your grass and other plants you actually want to grow. The key to weeds is getting them before they seed and spread. For example, with dandelions, it is important to get them before they turn white. If you let this occur the seeds will spread and next year you will have even more to deal with next year. Not only is it important to start weeding early, it is very important to get as much of the roots as possible. This will remove the weeds permanently versus the weeds coming back later in the season or the following year. There are many tools you can invest in to help with weeding, but we like a simple Hand Weeder for most of our gardening needs. You can find one at Canadian Tire or most hardware stores like this. Since weeding takes a lot of bending over, we also like one of these for kneeling on. Both items are low cost investment for all your weeding needs. Choose a nice day, put on some music and get to weeding - it will be time consuming, but worth it in the long run for a healthy uniform lawn.

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2. Get green green grass

For the greenest grass on the block, it is important to water deeply, but not often. Ideally, you want to water enough to penetrate the soil 4-6 inches. Not sure how long to water for? Do a simple test! Water for 30 minutes, then plunge a spade into the soil and pry out a wedge to see how far the water has penetrated. If the water has penetrated 4-6 inches, you’re all set! If not, water for longer and test again, tracking the time every time you test. Once you have done this once, you’ll know how long you typically need to water for. Usually, watering once a week is sufficient but type of soil and weather affect watering times, so take into account in hotter, dryer weather you will need to water every two to three days.
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3. Test the soil pH level

This may seem a little over the top, but if you have noticed that your grass or plants are not thriving over the past few years, there could be an issue with the pH of your soil. Grasses and many home garden plants like a pH level between 6 and 7.0. If your soil is too acidic or too alkaline, your plants won’t survive even if you do everything else right. Collect tablespoon-sized samples a couple of inches under the sod from three different places in your yard and take these in for testing. Many garden centers can test this for you and will be able to tell you what is needed to get your soil to that happy place for growth!

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4. Add accent planters

Adding accent planters can make a huge difference to the overall feel of your garden, especially if you don’t want to invest in the time to plant a full garden bed. Make sure you’re choose plants or vegetables that suit your garden conditions and lifestyle. If you aren’t home often, choose plants that don’t need to be watered often. Or if you only get morning sun, mention this to the garden center when purchasing. We love to use our accent planters for bright flowers or vegetables like tomatoes. They are pretty, add a pop of colour and also produce a tasty crop! When choose planters, we like to go with varying heights and shapes which gives the garden some movement, but keeps things looking uniform. Crate & Barrel have a great selection of planter sets which takes the guesswork out of mixing and matching!
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5. Don’t skip fall fertilizing

Ok so this one isn’t technically something you can do right now, but it is important to keep in mind for the end of the season (I know, we don’t want to think about it either!). Make sure to feed your lawn well, when when the grass seems to go dormant. Fall, before the cold weather has set in, is a great time to fertilize your lawn. Grass roots are soaking up nutrient and storing energy for the next growing season. Fall fertilization is actually more effective than spring fertilization (even though it is less typical!) Give it a try and thank us later!

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